Hammer to Nail

French writer-director Julien Colonna has made an edge-of-your-seat coming-of-age tale with his feature debut, The Kingdom. The mob thriller had its world premiere at last year’s Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section. It stars Ghjuvanna Benedetti as a teenage...

Writer and actor River Gallo shines in Esteban Arango’s neo-noir, Ponyboi. Based on Gallo’s award-winning 2019 short film of the same name, it had its world premiere at Sundance 2024 and is finally set to arrive stateside early this summer....

(Check out Matt Delman’s Helen and the Bear movie review. The film is available now on VOD. Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.) What constitutes a marriage as ‘traditional’ is beyond me. But director Alix Blair suspected something...

Today I’m stepping into the mysterious world of Ash, the visually striking sci-fi survival horror film now playing in theaters. Directed by acclaimed musician-turned-filmmaker Flying Lotus, this mind-bending experience follows Riya (Eiza González), who awakens on a mysterious planet to...

The less you know, the better. A young man travels from Toulouse to his (fictional) hometown of Saint-Martial to attend the funeral of his former boss, a fondly appreciated baker in the neighbourhood. His widow invites the estranged man to...

(Ting Poo, Leo Scott and Val Kilmer’s documentary about Val Kilmer, entitled Val is in theaters now and streaming on Amazon Prime. Like what you see here on Hammer to Nail? Why not give just $1.00 per month via Patreon to help keep us...

(Check out Chris Reed’s When Fall Is Coming movie review, It starts April 4 at Film Forum before a nationwide rollout. Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.) When Fall Is Coming, the new film from French director François Ozon...

Premiering to critical acclaim in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes 2024, Armand marks the feature debut of Norwegian filmmaker Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel. Set entirely within the labyrinthine corridors of an elementary school after hours, this tense psychological drama follows Elisabeth...

Throughout its five-decade run, New Directors/New Films has introduced the works of many of today’s notable auteurs, including Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Kelly Reichardt, Denis Villeneuve, Michael Haneke, Guillermo del Toro, RaMell Ross, Laura Poitras, Yorgos Lanthimos, and...

“This is my heart, it’s yours… forever.” Filmmaker Alexis Langlois, known back in his native France for his extravagant music videos, makes his feature debut with Queens of Drama. Premiering at last year’s Cannes Critics Week, the film charts the...